Bali bomber suspect claims he was tortured before signing confession

THE alleged operations chief of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group told a court yesterday that police tortured him into signing a confession that he planned last year’s Bali nightclub bombings.

Ali Ghufron one of three suspected group members on trial for the October 12 attack said officers beat him 20 times and threatened to send a photograph of his bruised penis to his wife unless he confessed.

"I experienced extraordinary torture ... uncivilised mental and physical pressure," Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, said in a written statement.